


Hide & Seek

by kimzhingstories



Series: Betting, Betting [1]
Category: SF9 (Band)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Reader-Insert, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-20
Updated: 2019-08-20
Packaged: 2020-09-22 23:17:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20330146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kimzhingstories/pseuds/kimzhingstories
Summary: “I can see youIt’s hard to act like I don’t knowI can see everything…”Where Hwiyoung is part of a rising idol boy group and the two of you share a closeness that’s blossoming into romance. But there is a rumor circulating about the two of you that could ruin both of your lives…





	Hide & Seek

“누나! (Nuna!)”

The idea is to avoid Kim Hwiyoung today and all the days of your life. The idea is for you to act as if he’s a stranger. Rumors about how close you two got are spreading like wildfire inside the company and tidbits of those rumors have already reached his and his group’s fans. It’s causing a stir; a boiling chaos that could ruin both you and the guy himself. Not to mention, such rumors can affect the entire boy group that he’s part of. 

But said guy is making it hard for you. Whenever he’s on break or not in his studio writing songs, he would follow you around and tail you like no other. Just like today.

You turn around to face him. “Hwiyoung-ssi, what is it?”

His brows knit together for a split second but it did not last long. He is once again smiling at you. That oh-so-beautiful smile that, without you noticing, became your favorite. “Why are you so serious, nuna? Oh, never mind. I came to tell you that Chani and I are going to grab fried chicken for lunch. Do you want to come with us?”

Oh, lunch. You completely forgot about that. Before running into Hwiyoung, you just came from the CEO’s office. That is where you found out about the rumors circulating between you and Hwiyoung. The CEO did not reprimand you. You would not call it like that. **Warning** \- that is the right term for it. You got a warning from the CEO himself. After a prelude of ‘You are an amazing employee. I would not want to lose a valuable person like you.’, the CEO explained that if things get out of control, Hwiyoung’s hard-earned career and popularity - including the group he’s part of - will go down the drain. If such a thing would happen, there would be no way for him to keep you in the company. There is no need for the CEO to tell you what you should be doing. You told him you would work on keeping distance from Hwiyoung and the rest of the members. The CEO agreed with a sigh, telling you to “do what you think is right for everybody”.

You excused yourself and left his office with thoughts running like bullet trains in your mind. How in the world can you avoid Kim Hwiyoung? Is it even possible when spending time with him feels like second nature to you now? 

_ Do I really want to avoid him? Can I really do this? _

But it’s something that you have to. You will never be able to forgive yourself if the stirring rumors about the two of you, regardless of how groundless those are, would destroy the group’s hard work and efforts. Just the thought of it is enough to make you sick. With a deep breath, you harden your resolve and set yourself to the mission. You will avoid Hwiyoung at all cost. 

You got taken away from your reverie when Hwiyoung placed his hand on your head. You are a few years older than him but he is a lot taller, for sure. Patting you on the head or casually putting his arm on your shoulder are things that he can do and has been doing because he is a tower beside you.

“Nuna, are you alright? I saw you came from CEO-nim’s office. Did something happen?” 

You looked up and saw him looking at you with eyes full of worry. The smile that you gave him lack warmth, even to you. You took his hand away from your head. 

“I’m fine. It’s just that I’m really busy right now. The CEO gave me a new task,” you said to him. You are not lying on that part, though. Avoiding him does feel like it’s a task - for you. “It’s kind of heavy and it’s making my schedule hectic. Sorry, Hwiyoung-a. I might not be able to join you and the members for lunch in the next couple of days.” 

The gentle eyes that were looking at you just a few minutes ago turned into a piercing pair of glare. “What? And you will not eat because you have a new task from the CEO?” 

You knew this would not be easy. “No, I don’t mean it that way. I would have less time to hang out with you guys because of this new task. I would probably spend more time in the office and with my team because we have to plan a lot of things. I’m really sorry.” 

That did not lighten up his mood. You can still see his frown. As much as you want to erase that away from his face, you held yourself still. Gone are the days when you would reach your hand out with a smile and smoothed the lines on his forehead to efface his frown. Only you can do this. Only you can stop this. 

The only people who knew about the rumors are you, your manager and Youngbin - the group’s leader. The latter was very understanding of everything because he knows the truth behind your closeness with Hwiyoung. He knows that there’s only friendship - nothing more. You are friends with the other members, too. But as the group’s leader, he is also firm on his stand that the rumor has to end. 

“I’ll just bring you food from time to time, Nuna. That’s fine, right?” 

You put on a straight face and looked at him directly. “Ya! I told you I would be busy. Me and my team will be in the office most of the time so we’ll just eat there. I can handle myself, Hwiyoung-a. You will be busy, too. You guys will start your tour next week. Focus on that.” 

You clenched your hands tightly when he turned and walked away from you. 

That’s right, Hwiyoung. Stay away from me. 

—0—0—0—0—0—0—0—0— 

** _“There are rumors circulating around. Those rumors are about you and Y/N nuna. If you really care about her and our group, you will keep your distance. Snap out of it and pull yourself together, Hwiyoung.” _ **

The idea is to absorb all of these in one go. That way he would not have to deal with the confusion and shock that he is feeling right now. He felt like a bomb just exploded in front of him and there is nothing he can do but to stand there and watch everything dissolve into ashes. The fact that he had no idea what was going on has left him staggering. All the dizziness that he has been feeling from traveling from one country to another, adjusting to different time zones and getting used to eating food that doesn’t taste like anything from home just disappeared. What’s making him dizzy now is the news that Youngbin told him.

Rumors. 

People working in the entertainment industry all know how terrifying rumors are. Those can either make or break your career and you as a person. Most of the time, the breaking happens and not the other way around. Rumors can destroy artists, taint the name of the agency handling them and, more often than not, leaves a stigma to the people that those artists work with. It’s insane how things work that way but that’s just how it is in their world. Boy group members just like him may be involved or tagged to any sorts of rumors but their management would usually put emphasis on one yet very crucial kind - a dating rumor. 

A dry laugh escaped from him as he slowly processed what Youngbin told him. There is a dating rumor associated to him now. This is no longer something that involves his looks and his talents. These rumors can affect not just him but his fellow group members. Everything is slowly sinking in and he remembered how Youngbin called everybody to gather inside the Warsaw practice room. You have no idea how annoyed he was because he’s already really sleepy and tired. You have no idea how he was so excited that practice is over because he can finally pick up his phone and send you another message no matter how the previous ones that he sent are still left unread and unanswered. You have no idea how much he misses you. But Youngbin looked dead serious when he called everybody over after he made sure that they all had finished eating the food served for dinner. Everybody must have felt the tension emanating from their leader because nobody, not even the crazy trio of Inseong, Dawon and Jaeyoon, made a joke when they finally settled inside the room. Few minutes had passed before Youngbin spoke. 

The rumors have reached the upper management, the managers handling their group and you. The task that you mentioned must have been the order of the management for you to stay away from him. You declined his invitation to have lunch with him and Chani that day because you took it to yourself to avoid him immediately. He finally understood how all that you said were just alibis so that he wouldn’t go near you. But then, are those really just alibis? Come to think of it, how come it was so easy for you to stay away from him? The rumors involve both of you but you chose to keep it to yourself by not telling him. He immediately feel like a fool. 

Was he just imagining the connection that the two of you have? Everything that you shared together - the late night jaunts to saunas only to buy sikhye and hard boiled eggs after a hard day of music show preparations, the black barley drink you usually leave in his studio whenever he’s inside the practice room with the boys, the weekend nights when you would always give way to his relentless pestering of going to that karaoke place near the office - were all those just figments of his imagination? 

He loves you. He really, really loves you. It’s true that he denied that realization over and over, even to himself. But after a few weeks of alternately drinking soju and makgeolli with Taeyang and Chani, he finally admitted to himself that he is in love with you. He falls in love with you every single day. He falls in love with the way your eyes sparkle whenever he lets you listen to unfinished demo songs that he made. He falls in love with you when your face lights up with simple things like that time when Dawon gave you a huge fluff of cotton candy on a stick and that weekend when Youngbin handed that pack of marshmallow over to you. He falls in love with you whenever you softly sing while arranging segment papers, thinking that nobody is listening. He falls in love with you when you listen with rapt attention whenever he talks about how hard rap making is for that particular verse. He falls in love with you whenever he sees that proud look on your face when he belts out high notes after high notes even if he messes up the song in the end. He falls in love with you even on your bad days - when you just give him a nod and a half-heart bow because you are not in the mood. He falls in love with you because you are you. Those little things made you a whole package that made it impossible for him not to love. 

He did not instantly got drawn to you the first time he saw you. There was no immediate pull. It was not love at first sight. When you entered the practice room that day, just right after they finished practicing the choreography for Now or Never, he saw you as a simple and unassuming girl. Your hair was tied up in a ponytail with some strands falling on each side of your face, framing it. You were wearing a tee shirt and denim jeans with a clipboard in hand. You carried yourself with just the right amount of confidence but how you inhaled deep breaths a couple of times did not go unnoticed. After you greeted and told them your name, he mused how the whole room lit up when you smiled. Right then and there, he admitted that you have one of the most beautiful smiles he has ever seen. Days bled into weeks, weeks into months and bit by bit, Hwiyoung got to know you. 

He knew that as much as you love snow and claimed that Winter is your favorite season, you easily get cold and complain about it. That you love eating tteokbokki but would give up after one serving because it’s just too spicy. That you pout your lips whenever you are thinking hard. That you would rather spend working until the wee hours of morning just so you can finish the work assigned to you. That you never raise your voice under pressure whenever things get hectic in music shows and guesting despite the fact that your hands grow cold as ice when the nerves take over you. That you prefer wearing flats rather than heels because comfort matters more to you than style. That you always insist that there’s no need for you to wear something fashionable, except on special occasions, because you’re working in the backstage anyway. 

Those careful observations, those little details made him fall for you. Those things made you real. Those traits made you lovable. And in all those times that he has spent with you, he felt solace. Knowing that after working amidst the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry, you are right behind the stage, waiting for them - for him - with a smile on your face. 

But now, he’s thinking if he just imagined all those. The obvious connection between the two of you. How in sync you both are with each other. How you can communicate with each other even from across the room without saying a word. 

People around him are telling him to sit still. Even Inseong, who has been his constant confidante, told him that he has to lay low. That he really needs to stay away from you. But staying still is the farthest thing in his mind. Right now, all he wants to do is to go to where you are and clear things out. Not about the rumors, but about who he really is for you. 

But how can he, when he was told to sit still?

—0—0—0—0—0—0—0—0—

**[1 Message Received]**

The idea is to hold yourself together and not crack any time soon. You closed your eyes tight when you heard your phone beeped for the fifth time today. Yes, you counted. Since the day Hwiyoung left for Chicago for their group’s tour, you have been counting the number of times your phone buzzed and vibrated whenever you receive a message or a call from him. No, if you have to be honest, you have been counting since that day when you lied to him about the task that the CEO gave you just so you can avoid him. 

There are few things in life that you find difficult to stay away - coffee, electric fan over air-conditioner, odeng and cold sweet tea. But you would be willing to trade and stay away from all those if it means you can spend time with Hwiyoung once again. It has been weeks. It has been weeks and it has been hard. You made a pact to yourself that you will never, by any means, open and read any messages; much more answer calls from him. You toughen your resolve and hardened yourself even though it felt like in doing so, you are expiring. You miss Kim Hwiyoung. You miss the man you love. 

Funny how all these time, you thought that you will never get attracted and most of all, fall in love with a younger man. You’ve had your fair share of dates and those had always been with men older than you. You firmly believed that older men are more mature, know how to carry themselves and have a great sense of responsibility. Until Kim Hwiyoung came and proved you wrong. 

Hwiyoung made your heart flutter because he sees and perceives life beyond his age. His perception and thoughts about serious matters, for you, are attractive. You can still remember that time when you were one of the staff who accompanied him and Chani on their break time. How he gazed outside the window and spoke, addressing no one in particular, about how some people in the country must be struggling and working hard just for them to survive everyday. Hwiyoung made your heart flutter when he shares his world, bit by bit, to you. How his hands, though unnoticeable for some, trembled those times he asked you listen to demo songs. Whenever he smiles unguarded and how his entire aura changes when he does. Whenever he gets excited every time you send over a bottle of black barley drink and a bowl of jajangmyeon over to his studio knowing that he sometimes forgets to eat because he gets too immersed in creating music. Your heart flutters whenever you see the burning passion he has when it comes to his craft and how he fervently loves his group members even though he does not show it often. Your heart fluttered that windy day when you were wearing a skirt and you had to accompany him to a shoot. The wind was really bad that day and you were having a hard time holding your skirt when suddenly, he held your hand to stop you from walking. You can still remember how your heart beat like crazy back then. Hwiyoung then took one of his bracelets and went down on one knee to tie one end of your skirt to keep it from being blown by the wind. How you endured the relentless teasing of your fellow staff members because they said you went bright red while looking at Hwiyoung then. 

And now, after spending so much time with him, you have to stay away. 

You have to stay away because you love him. And loving him means loving the world that he is a part of and the people in it. Loving the world that he is part of means accepting everything including the harsh realities that his world has. You have to stay still because if you do something, anything, you will break. And if that happens, all your efforts in staying away from him will be for nothing. 

When you heard your phone buzzed with a different ring tone, you answered it right away. 

“Hello?” 

“Hello, Y/N!” It’s her manager. “Thank goodness I’m able to reach you.” 

“Manager-nim, is something wrong?” 

“Get yourself ready. You will be joining the reliever team for SF9’s Berlin concert. You will leave with our team tomorrow afternoon.” 

A loud clap of thunder - she felt like her ear turned deaf. “What? Why?”

“I am not supposed to send you there but Hyejin got sick. And there’s no extra person in our team to replace her.” 

“But- But, manager-nim, Hwiyoung is - …” 

“Yes, I know, Y/N. But we have no choice. You will fly for Berlin tomorrow.” 

Life could not be this messed up, could it?

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first work so please bear with me being an amateur. My work still contains inaccuracies and erratic thoughts. ^_^
> 
> Thank you so much for taking the time to read! 
> 
> Lots of love,  
Kimzhing


End file.
